Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Price Target Raised to $187.00

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) had its price target lifted by Barclays from $166.00 to $187.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the online travel company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday. Melius Research upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Expedia Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $187.93.

Expedia Group Stock Up 17.3 %

Expedia Group stock opened at $202.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a market capitalization of $25.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $182.42 and its 200 day moving average is $160.59. Expedia Group has a 12-month low of $107.25 and a 12-month high of $205.12.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 55.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Expedia Group will post 10.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is presently 17.68%.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,951 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $351,180.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,345,000. This represents a 2.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total transaction of $1,697,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,951 shares of company stock worth $5,174,510. 6.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EXPE. SRH Advisors LLC bought a new position in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Expedia Group by 676.2% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Expedia Group by 709.8% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com.